Stark On Draft, Astros, Phillies

There’s a disconnect between ownership groups and baseball operations departments for some small market teams, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. Owners want hard slotting for draft picks, but their front office employees like having the freedom to accumulate talent by spending aggressively in the draft. Here are the details and the rest of Stark’s notes from around MLB…

Some small-market teams would like to see stiffer luxury tax rates and thresholds imposed, the implementation of an international draft and penalties for teams whose payrolls dip below a certain level.

The idea of supplying small-market teams with extra draft picks has also been “tossed around,” Stark reports.